Panama Flag

Description

The Panama flag is available from Flags Online in full-size and desk formats, printed on both sides and made to last outdoors.

About the Panama Flag

The Panama flag was first raised in the closing days of 1903, when Panama broke away from Colombia and became an independent republic. It is divided into four quarters by a horizontal and a vertical line through the centre, two of them plain blue and red, the other two white with a single five-pointed star. The layout is unusual among national flags – most quartered designs repeat a single pattern, but Panama’s four sections are all different, which makes it instantly recognisable.

Colours and Symbolism

The blue and red quarters trace back to Panama’s two dominant political parties of the early twentieth century, the Conservatives and the Liberals, brought together on one flag as a gesture toward unity in the new republic. The white quarters stand for peace between the two factions. In the white quarter nearest the blue section sits a blue star, said to represent the purity and honesty with which the new nation was expected to govern itself; in the white quarter nearest the red section sits a red star, representing the authority and rule of law on which the republic was built. Read together, the two stars are usually described as symbolising the new republic itself.

History of the Panama Flag

The design is credited to Manuel Encarnación Amador, son of Panama’s first president Manuel Amador Guerrero, who sketched what became the Panama flag shortly before independence; it was sewn into an actual flag by his mother, María de la Ossa de Amador, who became Panama’s first First Lady. It was flown for the first time in the first days of November 1903, around the moment independence was declared, well before it had any legal standing. Formal recognition came later, under Law 48 of 1925, which fixed the flag’s proportions and the arrangement of its quarters as they are known today. Minor adjustments were made to the layout soon after independence, once giving one party’s colour pride of place in the upper hoist began to look like favouritism.

Flying and Displaying the Flag

The Panama flag is flown year-round on government buildings and is especially prominent during the national holidays clustered around early November, when Panamanians mark independence from Colombia, the founding of the republic, and a separate Flag Day on 4 November. Because the four quarters are not identical, care is needed when hoisting it correctly – the star-and-white sections belong nearest the pole in a set order, and a flag sewn with the quarters reversed is a common, avoidable mistake. As with any national flag, it should be kept clean, flown right side up, and not left out in poor weather once it starts to fray.

Panama Flag Sizes and Pricing

• 180 x 120cm — R860
• 22 x 15cm Desk Flag (10 units) — R800
• 10 x 15cm Desk Flag (10 units) — R650
• 90 x 60cm — R400

Material and Construction

Made from 100% polyester bunting material and digitally printed on both sides. Hemmed all around with two rows of stitching and finished with a polyester webbing heading. Rope and toggle for hoisting included.

Supplied in packs of 10. Printed on both sides onto polyester and supplied with a black plastic stick and removable base — take the base off and it doubles as a hand waving flag.

Ordering and Delivery

Every Panama flag is printed to order and dispatched from our Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and Johannesburg branches, with courier delivery nationwide. Bulk and school orders are welcome — contact us for volume pricing on quantities of 10 or more.

Order Lead Times

Almost everything we make is freshly printed and made to order, just for you! So please allow 3–5 working days for us to prepare your order before it heads out the door. We’ll always try to get it to you sooner where we can. Some fast movers, like South African flags, ship quicker as they’re often in stock.

One quick thing to keep in mind: the “next working day” you see on your order confirmation is the courier’s delivery time from the day we dispatch — not from the day you place your order. So it’s really 3–5 days to prepare + next-day delivery.

Good things are worth the wait — we’re excited to get your order into your hands.

Additional information